Going, Going, Gone
by KaeJoe
Summary: Chihiro is all grown up, and realizing that life may not be worth it; rated for severe angst, and mild language.
1. A Prologue

Dearest readers,

_Hey ladies and gents, you may know me, you may not; I used to go by the name "White Dragon 01" with mostly just __Spirited Away__ FanFics, and thus, in tradition, I bring you one today._

_This story is only going to be a short one, this prologue and then maybe one or two more chapters, I'm not sure yet, lol. If you guys'll review and give me ideas, that would be grand. Sorry about this being tiny. Alright, without further delay, __Going, Going, Gone__._

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own the original __Spirited Away__ concept, any of the characters or anything else; this plot is merely my creative look on something that could have happened next._

_- KaeJoe_

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Here I am.

Again.

Just waiting.

"_Will we meet again sometime?"_

"_Sure we will."_

Every year, on the anniversary of the day that I left the spirit world, left Kohaku's side, I come down to this tunnel and gaze through it with that familiar sense that it's elongating right before my very eyes; if I remember correctly, this is the tenth anniversary, a better time than any to solve my problems. For the first year after I left, I knew that what happened there was real, I was convinced that he was real, that he would come for me, and every night I laid in bed thinking the same thing, over and over again. "_Tonight will be the night, he'll come for me, we'll live happily ever after, yesiree." _It may sound funny, but even at ten I knew that I was in love with him, or at least, I thought I was.

As the year passed on and I still asked my mom if Haku had called every day after school even though she had never met him, or anything else, she dropped me into therapy and they helped to convince me that Haku was a dream, a fantasy created by my mind when I got lost and needed some way to cope. It makes sense, doesn't it? Yet, for some reason, every year on this day I make my way back to this tunnel and stand here in front of the creepy statue, and just stare, searching for him; don't laugh, but I only believe he's real one day out of the rest, and that day, is today.

Haku's ghost has left me a very troubled person, and I rarely find the strength to go on anymore, unable to find something to believe in, especially with the death of my parents last year. I'm not sure how I pulled through. I think that this is the main reason I've found myself here today, not because of tradition or anything, but because today, it changes; today, I'll finally be free.


	2. A Drawn Out Morning

Sunlight filtered through the gauzy white curtains that fluttered over her windows, and Chihiro groaned in annoyance, rolling over to block the light from piercing her sensitive eyes, burying herself under the fluffy, deep comforter that she had covered up with the night before. The black sheets with the white floral patterns were made of the finest Egyptian cotton, silky smooth sheets that held warmth wonderfully. One of her eyes finally opened when her alarm clock went off, and the girl rolled over, slapped at the clock, and forced herself to sit, and swing her legs over the edge of the bed. One glance in the mirror, with the reminder, "tomorrow is the day" written in pink lipstick on the bottom corner immediately snapped her awake; she had written that before she went to bed the night before, so that she didn't forget that today was the day that everything would change.

Scampering from the bed, she made her way into the bathroom and turned on the hot water in her shower, allowing it to warm up while she undressed and brushed out her rather grimy feeling hair; using a warm was cloth with a bit of makeup removal stuff, she washed her face and then stuck her hand into the shower. Certain that the temperature was perfect, she stepped into the hot spray, and sighed as her muscles immediately started to relax. It only helped when she soaped her hair with her fragrant smelling shampoo, conditioned it, and then rubbed down her body with equally fragrant body gel, the steam and warm scents filling her small bathroom to the bursting point. By the time she was squeaky clean, rinsed and dripping, a small smile was formed around her lips; slipping from the shower while at the same time turning of the spraying water, she grabbed one of the fluffy green towels from the rack and wrapped her body up in it.

She dried off quickly, wrapping her brown hair up in another green towel of the very fluffy variety before moving into the bedroom, and browsing through her walk-in closet for the perfect outfit. It was a warm summer day, the sky a clear blue with only a few fluffy white clouds floating in the warm air, blown by an unfelt breeze way up there in the temperamental realm of the sky. After opening one of her windows, letting a warm breeze settle into her room, Chihiro selected a white sundress, the bottom hem threaded with a green pattern that circled around the entire bottom; from the skirt, the dress billowed slightly, then enclosed around her slender form, molding to every curve, accenting her slender stomach, before tying at the back of her neck, while exposing a hint of cleavage. This dress was paired with a set of white sneakers - that were good walking shoes – and a tear drop diamond chandelier necklace with the matching earrings that dangled delicately from her earlobes. After applying some light makeup, she yanked her hair down from its towel cocoon, and blow dried it with the aid of a round brush. When it was styled into loose curls, she grabbed her purse and left the house with the door securely locked behind her, her stomach's needful grumbling for breakfast ignored.

Yawning softly as she lazily drifted down the walkway that was centered through her lawn, she opened the gate to the picket fence that circled her yard, and moved to the rather shabby looking bicycle that she used to get around. Making sure her purse was secure; she straddled the bike, kicked the stand up, and rolled down the driveway and onto the main street. Though it didn't really make sense, biking was one of her favorite activities, the wind in her hair, the cool breeze brushing her cheeks and blowing out her skirts as she went, the fresh air exhilarating in her lungs; in fact, sometimes she even imagined that she was riding upon the back of a huge, Chinese dragon with flashing white scales and a mane the color of a peaceful sea, emerald eyes framed in a slender skull with corn colored horns. It wasn't hard for her fantasies to take flight as she turned down the worn road, the colorful trees and tiny stone shrines whizzing past as her hand closed around the handle bars, and her mind gave the handles scales, like that of a dragon. Chihiro's mind soared and she grinned widely, her eyes closing briefly as she raced down the uneven road, swerving holes and bumps by memory; a feeling that came to her as easily as breathing caused her to open her eyes, and slowly apply the caliber braking system that slowed her down, one leg landing onto the ground before she swung the other over as well, dropping the bike onto its side.

Clutching her purse to her chest, she glanced down at the bike that had once been her dragon, and smiled fondly at it before moving away, stepping in front of the creepy little statue as she pulled her phone from her purse to call her American boss. The phone rang three times before Sheila picked up with a snippy, "What do you want?" that caused Chihiro to cringe and then speak up in her bold tone.

"Sheila-sempai, I was just calling in to let you know I won't be at work today, my bike broke." She lied with skill, her eyes wandering over to the perfectly functional bike, and then back to the tunnel where all her problems had started ten long years ago. Sheila said that it was fine, and then briskly hung up, Chihiro's brown eyes rolling as she closed the phone, and slid it back into the purse she'd taken it from; leaning back against the creepy little statue, she pulled a serrated kitchen knife, complete with the plastic guard, from the confines of the small, beaded satchel. Sliding the case from the blade, she dropped the case and her purse to the ground at her feet, and touched the shiny purple hair tie that circled her left wrist.

Oh yes, today was the day that everything would change, that she'd finally be free from the darkness of Kohaku's spirit.

'_I'll finally be free._'

Closing her eyes as she touched the blade to her left wrist, directly below the shiny band, Chihiro prepared to set free the blood in her veins, to kill her body so that her soul would be free, but before she could make the starting cut, her name was called out, and she hesitated. For just a moment, she could have sworn that her name came from inside the tunnel; opening her chocolate brown eyes, Chihiro looked down into the tunnel, her jaw dropping as a male slightly older than her with long, deep green hair, emerald toned eyes, and a firmly set mouth walked slowly towards her, pausing at the entrance to the human world, her head cocking to the side. '_It can't be.._' Blinking, the knife slipped from her fingers and landed dangerously close to her sneaker clad foot, her lips parting in surprise.

"Chihiro," The male said again, his voice humming familiarly through her ears, taking her back through time, ten years into her past when she was just a young girl, asking her childhood crush if they would ever meet again. "What are you doing?"

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_Dearest Readers,_

_Hello everyone, and here is the newly typed first chapter in Going, Going, Gone written by yours truly. I know it may seem kind of drawn out, but I had a creative spurt and just had to write down everything that came into my head. As you'll be able to see, Chihiro is a very conflicted girl, but I want you all to know that in no way do I support suicide as a solution to problems, it just makes for an interesting plot. Suicide is a permanant solution to a temporary problem. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I also hope that all of you had a fantastic New Years._

_Real quick, a special thank you to my first reviewer; _donladey.

_I should have the next chapter up real soon, thanks for sticking with me._

_-KaeJoe_


	3. A Terrible Surprise

_Dearest readers,_

_I'm back again with my third installation of Going, Going, Gone, a FanFic created to show how much people can change, and how hope is never truly lost. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll be back with what may be the final installation asap._

_Again I would like to thank _donladey_ for following my story, even though the chapters must be long and inevitably dry, lol. But, you know what they say, you are your own worst critic._

_-KaeJoe_

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During the day the Spirit World was quiet, the streets were empty and it was a nice relief from the bustling, busy hours of the night when Spirits came from all over the world to visit Yubaba's bath house – a twelve story building with multiple baths bother public and private plus rooms where they could stay the night – and it was Kohaku's only time of peace. He often spent the long hours of the day either sleeping, reading, or pondering when he would see Chihiro again, the ten years had gone by slowly, dragging on as if each second was a year, each minuet a millennia. However, even though he desperately wanted to go and see her, to make sure she was living a long and full life, each day he swore to himself that she was better off without him, and seeing him again would only cause her pain. On this day, however, it was all going to change, he was finally going to go and visit the girl that still haunted his every dream, and stayed with him in every waking thought.

Emerald green eyes focused on the wooden ceiling above him, counting the rafters and support beams that held the roof from collapsing on his head as the morning sun rose, giving through to what he knew would be another sleepless day. Sleep was a friend he hadn't had the pleasure of meeting in a long while; every now and then he would manage to slip into a haunted sleep, forcing his weary mind to get some shadow of rest before the busy night took over and the Moon Goddess coated the world in darkness once more. But on this day, the tenth anniversary of Chihiro's departure, he knew sleep would not come.

Just as he was closing his eyes for a brief meditation, there was a knock on his paper door, and it slid open to reveal one of his oldest friends. One of his green eyes was opened, and he looked her way with one of his eyebrows lifting slowly as she stepped in without permission, like she owned the place. "Hey, Haku, Yubaba wants to see you. She said it's important and cannot wait," Rin spoke in a rushed tone, her breath coming in short heavy pants as though she'd run from elevator to elevator, down the stairs and through the hallways from the top floor to the first just to deliver the news; of course, knowing Yubaba, that was exactly what had happened.

Forcing his tired body into a sitting position, the floral patterned blanket fell from his naked chest revealing the toned muscles and chiseled lines of his well defined chest, a reward for working so hard to keep things up and running. One hand was lifted and ran through the mid-back length deep green hair, before it was tied back with a band from around his wrist; rubbing both hands over his face, Kohaku slumped forward and nodded lightly. "Did she say what she wanted?" He asked calmly, fighting to keep his cool demeanor, to keep his anger from bursting through him.

"No, just that it was urgent. I wouldn't keep her waiting, you know how she gets."

He nodded, and waved his hand to let her know she could leave, and she did so silently. Haku lifted his head, and then flung the blankets from his body and stood from his small futon that lay on the ground; without bothering to make his bed again, the boy threw on a white t-shirt, and a pair of faded blue jeans, having picked up the twentieth century style. Sighing, she shoved open his door and stepped out into the cool, early morning air, and allowed his body to explode in a shower of white scales, his form elongating, shifting, stretching, bones reforming with a brief crunch until he was a long, slender Chinese dragon with white scales, and a mane of turquoise hair. Two whiskers slid from his muzzle and he shook himself to help relieve the soreness of his exhausted body, before he slithered out over the balcony and climbed up the wall, his claws barely leaving marks on the wood.

Only when he was in dragon form did he feel any amount of peace or happiness, the rush and thrill of flying through clear, open air while the scenery below flashed by, throwing scents his way like bombshells. Flying, slithering, swimming, doing all the takes a river spirit did, made him feel complete, and a shred of peace finally settled in his heart, only to be demolished whenever he changed back. On some days, he thought about staying in his dragon form permanently, but he knew that was a bad plan, for that would kill any shred of humanity he hoped to retain.

Sighing softly as he climbed over the last level, and then over the balcony to Yubaba's level of the bath house, he forced himself to change back into a human in a smooth eruption of white light, and then entered the elaborate, richly decorated room. Glancing around, he took note of the three annoying green heads, and a large, disturbingly intelligent baby playing in the corner, and he waved at the four of them. Bo waved back excitedly and then pointed in a dramatic fashion towards the gilded doors that led to Yubaba's office, and Haku nodded, bowed, and started towards them. Knocking loudly, using a bit more force than necessary, he opened the doors and stalked inside without waiting for an invitation. "What do you need?" he asked the back of the chair that he knew Yubaba to be sitting in, facing the opposite direction as she gazed out the window.

Yubaba was a rather disgusting specimen of woman with an overly large nose and a squat little body; without turning to him, she began to speak in her raspy, annoying voice. "As you know, I have had a spirit watching over Sen for the past few years," a smug smile covered her lips as she heard Haku growl in irritation at using the name "Sen" instead of "Chihiro" and she paused dramatically before continuing, "I just thought that you should know, dear boy, that she has returned to the tunnel with the intent of stopping her pain. If you know what I am referring too." Her smug look deepened at the intense surge of anger, pain, and pure angst that flooded through the room like electricity and she finally turned to face him, her large head tipping to the side. "I thought you'd like to k-"

"I'm going to her," he interrupted, a scowl on his face, yet his tone was calm and collected as always, his hands loose at his side yet his fingers twitched in annoyance, as though he'd like nothing more than to curl up a fist and crush that overly large nose.

The witch nodded slowly, "I thought you might feel that way, so here is a reminder, do not cross into the human world, or you will disintegrate. Have a nice time."

She'd barely finished getting the words out of her large mouth before Haku erupted into scales and shot out the window, climbing into the sky before heading towards the old clock tower; landing in the grassy meadow just outside the big red building, he landed and changed back into a human simultaneously. Running barefoot into the room that looked like a church's narthex, he looked around briefly, and then ran into the tunnel. "Chihiro!" Slowing down to a walking pace, he wiped a hand across his face, his eyes falling to her hands, one of which was gripping a knife, pressing it into her opposite wrist, and his eyes widened in horror as he sped up, and stopped at the entrance to the tunnel, his mouth set firmly into a stern line as he fought to control his anger; he musn't cross the line.

"Chihiro," He repeated slowly, watching as shock over took her, as the knife slipped from suddenly limp fingers, and he had to resist the urge to leap out of the tunnel and stop it from colliding and slicing through her sneakers, though it luckily landed a few centimeters shy of that. Frowning deeply, he cocked his head to the side just a hint, and leveled a cold, disapproving gaze at her. "What are you doing?"


	4. A Shocking Truth

_Dearest readers,_

_This is the fourth installment of __Going, Going, Gone__, I don't have much to say about this chapter, as I did about the others so I guess we'll just move on from here. Haha._

_A special thank you to my latest reviewer and in response to their review; _xox-twilight-xox_, yes I will be continuing the story, I think it may end up a bit longer than I had originally planned. As for when I update, I try to get a new chapter up everyday, but with school starting again for me that may cut down a hair to like, every other day, or something of that nature. However, I will try my best to update as often as I can. I'm glad you're so interested in the story I'm building, thank you for your input, I look forward to hearing from you again._

_Feel free to review, I love criticism – well, constructive criticism, anyway – and I'd be happy to answer any questions you all may have. Anyways, I'll stop babbling now; enjoy._

_- KaeJoe_

_P.S: Sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes, I'm half asleep._

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'_Okay, okay, breathe. Chihiro. Breathing is good. Yesiree, breathing is good.._'

Taking a shaky breath as she watched, mesmerized by how smoothly this person moved, Chihiro came to the realization that she had been holding her breath, this sudden development brought on by a sharp pain in her chest and the appearance of black dots in front of her vision. Opening the back of her throat, she welcomed in a blast of cool air that expanded her lungs and cleared away a bit of the headache that had come as a result of her lungs voluntary cease of functioning; she registered that he had asked her a question, '_what are you doing?', _but for some reason she couldn't come up with an answer that justified her reason for standing outside the tunnel with a knife in hand, ready to end her own life. Her lips moved soundlessly, like a fish gasping for water in the open air, before she finally shrugged meekly, and twisted her fingers together in front of her, lowering her head in shame.

It was a terrible thing that this stranger – as she refused to believe it was Haku, that just wouldn't make sense - had to witness her melt down like this, what a terrible first impression she must have made. Chihiro cleared her throat, ignoring the nagging voice that had it spot on who this male was; "I'm.. Terribly sorry you had to see me like this. Things just aren't going very well." She mumbled, as though that made up for her actions, for her dire need to cease to exist.

What she figured he was going to say was already strong in her mind as she continued to twist her fingers, but she refused to look up, refused to see the shame in those strange emerald eyes, she couldn't deal with his judgment along with everything else that was on her mind. That was probably the reason that, when he finally spoke, she was so surprised that her head snapped up and she gave him an incredulous look. "Chihiro, do not act like you do not know me. I saw the recognition in your eyes, I saw the way your mind took you back ten years to the day when you first left," he spoke gently, and Chihiro's heart sang for just a moment, before it plummeted into the pit of her stomach, and she hardened her emotions.

"No. No way," she started, her tone a little less calm than she would have liked, "you don't know me, I don't know you."

A chuckle left Haku's throat, a sound of disbelief at her denial before he shrugged and leaned calmly against the wall of the tunnel. "Chihiro, say my name."

"I don't know your name."

"Yes you do. You gave it back to me ten years ago, you gave me a reason to fight Yubaba's control. Say it. Say my name."

Chihiro closed her eyes, and pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger; this simply couldn't be happening, her mind was making something up to keep her from acting drastically, she was hallucinating. That was all. "How do you know my name?" she finally asked, ignoring his demand for her to say his name, as though whispering out that one word would forever change her life, which, in all honesty, it would.

Kohaku sighed softly, and closed his eyes for a moment, counting quickly to ten to keep his demeanor calm and collected, to uphold his reputation of being the coolest spirit around. After a moment, he opened and lifted his gaze to the brown eyed girl before him, allowing a small smile to twitch across his lips at her unnerved expression. "You were very young, and you dropped a little pink shoe into my river, then fell in when trying to retrieve it. I saved you, pulling you onto my back and taking you to safety before returning your shoe. You were so very young, so impressionable. I was positive that that experience would remain I your mind forever, you most certainly remembered it ten years ago when you discovered my name. Dearest Chihiro, reach into your mind, dig deep, find the truth."

He watched for a reaction as he spoke, goading her to admit that she knew him, trying with all his will to be persuasive, and slowly, he extended a hand across the line into the human world, twitching subtly at the odd floating sensation that shuttered up his arm; he couldn't let the appendage remain long, or it was disintegrate before their very eyes, and would not reform when it was pulled back. "Take my hand.." he said softly, fully realizing that he was asking her to trust him, to realize that he was real, "please, Chihiro, take my hand."

Just as Haku thought, he was indeed asking her to trust him, yet for some reason, Chihiro did. Slowly, she extended her hand out, and placed it in his, feeling the warmth that radiated from his skin, permeating her flesh and warming her blood, and she finally lifted her eyes to meet his, her gaze curious and innocent. Shivering at the flood of memories that came from simply touching his hand, the girl shook her head slowly; "N-no, you can't be. He's not real," she muttered, peering deeply into his eyes to try and confirm his existence, her teeth finding her lower lip to suckle and bite in a nervous fashion. The male simply smiled at her, and tightened the muscles in his arm, pulling her across the threshold into the spirit world, tugging her against his chest to thread both arms around her, holding her from struggling.

Chihiro was shocked at first, and her hands immediately went to his chest to push him away, panic striking into her eyes; it wasn't every day that some random guy – cute as he was – grabbed her, and yanked her against his chest. "Haku! Let me go!" she cried out, not even aware that she'd used his name, until he shifted his hands to her shoulders, and pushed her back gently to look into her eyes, a full smile gently flooding over his and he nodded softly, giving her a squeeze, before releasing her shoulders.

"I told you, you knew me."


	5. A Promise

_Dearest readers,_

_Hello everyone, this is the second to last chapter in my story __Going, Going, Gone__ and I just wanted to tell you that it has been a pleasure writing this. Thank you to all my reviewers, and future reviewers to this story, I hope you find as much joy reading it, as I did in writing it._

_Anyways, a great thanks to my latest reviewer, _marium_._

_I appreciate all of your guys' support, and I'll be back with another story soonish._

_Thank you again._

_-KaeJoe_

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A calm smile spread over Haku's lips, watching the girl sort through everything she'd just been told, before he stepped forward, digging out a small, circular container that contained a single red berry; "Chihiro.." he said softly, opening the jar and extracting the berry, holding its soft body gently between thumb and forefinger, before slipping the jar back into his pocket. Holding it out to her, he smiled encouragingly and used his other hand to take her chin in his fingers. Touching the berry gently to her lips, he gently pulled on her chin a small bit to get her to open her mouth, again realizing that he was asking her to put a good amount of trust in him.

His gaze bore gently into hers, nudging her mind as he prodded her into accepting the food he offered. "I do not want you to disappear. Please, eat," his words were gentle, kind, and she had no reason to distrust him, yet she was still wary of the entire situation, paranoid from years of therapy that told her that Haku and the spirit world were not real, yet she opened her mouth, and felt him roll the berry off her bottom lip and onto her tongue where she chewed it slowly, the bittersweet flavor almost making her cringe, before she smiled and swallowed it down. As soon as the berry pulp was down her throat, she felt a warming sensation – like that of a fire on a cold winters night – in her belly that warmed her entire body, gave her a more sound, real feeling, like she was tethered to the ground by an invisible, safe cord. Haku nodded slowly. "How do you feel?" he asked softly.

The brown haired girl stared at him for a moment, running her hands over his chest, up his neck, touching his face, feathering her fingers over his eyelids as though to confirm that he was still real before she licked her lips, tasting the last bit of berry on her lips, again confirming that it was real. "I don't understand, why didn't you come sooner..?" she asked, her voice shaky with emotions she hadn't had to use in such a long time, that they almost frightened her.

The dragon spirit smiled, and reached his hand out further to cup her cheek in a gentle, loving fashion, pulling her closer as he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck into the soft, silk strands of her lovely hair. Rubbing her neck gently as he urged her to rest her head on his chest, which she did so hesitantly, yet gratefully, he licked his lips and closed his eyes, his cheek resting on the top of her head. "I wanted too, Chihiro, Goddess, I wanted too. You have to understand the position I have been in recently, so let me explain..

"After you left ten years ago I went back to the bath house and set Yubaba straight, she was shocked when I informed her that I knew my true name, but accepted it over the course of a few weeks. When she was ready, I then told her that instead of being her apprentice, I wanted to be a free spirit, free as the river I used to protect. Again, it took her some time to adjust, but she accepted that as well, and I signed on as co-owner of the bath house, we now run it together, though grudgingly. For nine years I have been cleaning up her messes, fixing up the bath house, and preparing for the day that you would return to us, I was going to come to you in a few months when preparations were finished, and then today I got a call from Yubaba, that you were going to.. Going to.." Haku's voice broke, and his grip tightened gently around the slim girl in his arms, holding her against him as though to deny the truth of what Yubaba had told him, and the truth as to why he'd come to fetch her early. Pulling back, Haku's hands went to her shoulders again, and he held her at arm's length, his calm façade dropped as he studied her, true pain in his eyes. "I was scared, Chihiro. Scared I was too late."

Kohaku studied her for a moment, waiting for a reaction, and was pleasantly surprised when she leaned back into him, burying her head in his chest and breathing deeply of his scent, letting it fill her head and calm her nerves as she thought about what to say. Finally leaning back, she rested her hands on his chest and nodded slowly. "I.. I think I understand, Haku, and I'm sorry. I should never have doubted you, but this past decade hasn't been easy for me, my parents threw me in therapy for five years, they managed to convince me that you were fake, that the spirit world was fake and ever since then I've thought I was simply craz-"

Her words were sharply cut off when Haku rolled his eyes, leaned down, and planted the softest of kisses upon her lips, a soft purr actually vibrating his chest as her taste over took him, and he pulled her flush against his body, letting out another purr as she molded against him, and after a momentary hesitation, kissed him back. This was by far a different Haku than Chihiro had ever known, his actions were by no means calm; on the contrary with every passing second they progressed from sweet and persuasive to passionate and aggressive until he was practically clinging to her, one of his hands sliding from her shoulder, down her back, and along her hip from which he slid it to her thigh. He felt her tense against him, but that didn't stop him from gently pushing her back against the tunnel wall and sliding his hand up under the skirt of her dress, rubbing gently at the ultra soft skin of her leg, before he hoisted it up around his waist; after a few moments in this much more intimate position, with more groping of hands and needful kisses, Haku seemed to snap back into reality, and softened his kisses and his grip until he was able to back away from her and rub a hand over his face, carefully making sure the very shaky girl could stand.

During all of it, Chihiro was a very willing participant, and she opened her eyes with a soft noise of disappointment when he pulled away, her brown eyes confused. "Wow, what was that?" she asked softly, touching her lips and looking up at him. "That was.. Nothing like you. Nothing at all."

The spirit laughed softly, and pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment. "I am sorry about that, it's been a long time since I felt a woman's touch like that.. I got a bit carried away." When he finished his statement, he shook his head and then moved to walk away again, yet turned back when Chihiro tugged on his arm.

"Can I come with you now?" she asked softly, looking up at him with huge doe eyes.

Haku smiled softly, and cupped her cheek as he shook his head. "Not today, I need to finish preparations. Return to the human world, and I'll come for you in a few months time; take your remaining time there to finish things up, quit your job, sell your house, and wait for me. Never stop waiting, I'll be there. Soon."

"Promise?"

"I promise, now go, and don't look back."


	6. A Epilogue

_Dearest readers,_

_First off, I'm sorry for being gone for so long. . School started up again and, good God, I swear that some sort of homework flood gates have opened, I haven't had a spare moment to write. Anyways, here's the last chapter! Should I make a sequel? Let's have a vote!_

_Thoughts and comments would be amazing, and I'm sorry it's so short._

_Thank you to all of my latest reviewers; _silverspetz, Everilde Vernamis, _and _marium.

_- KaeJoe_

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Over the next few months, Chihiro followed Haku's advice and sold her house to a nice couple that would take good care of it, and donated all but her most prized possessions to a local charity; with the money from her house, and the steady income from her job, she managed to stay at a hotel for three months while Haku finished whatever preparations that needed to be finished. The time apart was difficult, and she had problems trusting that he would come back; after all, he did leave her hanging for ten years. However, like he promised, three months later there was a knock on her hotel door, and they were off to the spirit realm.

Thirteen Months Later

The hard wood of the door frame pressed into her shoulder as Chihiro leaned against it, and stared in at the nursery where two precious baby's slept away the daytime hours, their little eyes closed while their chests rose and fell with the deepest breaths their little chests could handle. Her right hand fiddled lightly with the silver band on her left hand, and she smiled softly at the children, her children, that slept so peacefully. The new bornes, Akio and River, were the two most beautiful things she had ever laid her eyes on and as they slept she couldn't help but sigh peacefully before closing the door quietly, and turning down the hallway, walking towards the bedroom that was on the other side of the house with a slim white baby monitor in hand.

Slipping into the master bedroom, Chihiro felt herself smiling at the sight of her Haku asleep on their queen sized bed, his lean, pale body tangled in the emerald green sheets with one arm thrown over his eyes to block out the minimal light that seeped in through the dark curtains. She felt good that he was finally sleeping, since the children had been keeping them both awake most of the night for the past week, and though she was exhausted, she knew he needed more sleep, being the new owner of the bath house and all.

Slipping out of her silk robe, Chihiro draped it over a chair and crossed the room to the bed, where she stretched out languidly next to him, and slipped an arm over his chest, her hand laying over his heart where she could feel the deep rise and fall, and the steady drum beat of his heart. With a deep yawn, she closed her eyes, picturing their wedding ceremony that had been full of pale greens, whites, candles everywhere and white roses that filled the grand ballroom of the bath house; her dress had been white, simple silk with embroidered lace, her veil an elegant mesh. Everything had been beautiful that day, the sunlight streaming through the stain glassed windows while Zeniba had wed them.

It had been the first day that the bath house had been closed in over six hundred years.

For their honeymoon, Haku had taken them to a small island that wasn't known by more than a handful of people, and treated her to two weeks of pure paradise; fresh island fruit, the smell of the ocean, and coconut oil, the hot island sun tanning their skin to golden perfection. And it had been on the beach of said island that they had consecrated their love in the most beautiful way possible, which had then led to their beautiful twins. The girl, a little green eyes beauty, was named Akio after Chihiro's mother, and the charming boy was dubbed River after Haku's real name; Chihiro and Haku were thrilled to have been blessed by the most wonderful thing in the world, though that glow had dimmed some after they learned that full days of sleep were going to be a rare thing for several years, though they still loved their children with every fiber of their being.

Chihiro sighed and smiled softly, her lips curled as she snuggled closer to her dragon king, feeling him subconsciously wrap an arm around her and pull her close to his side. Opening her eyes one last time, the last thing she saw before finally falling into a blissful sleep, was the peaceful, beautiful face of her husband.

Her Kohaku.


End file.
